Music Education Monday: A master class with percussionist Airto Moreira

This week for Music Education Monday, you can sit in on a master class with Airto Moreira, the Brazilian-born percussionist who helped define early 1970s jazz-fusion through his work with Miles Davis and the original lineups of Weather Report and Return to Forever.

Moriera (pictured), who will be 75 years old this year, is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their work together recording, performing and co-leading a band has been the main focus of both their careers since the late 1970s.

Apart from Flora, Airto also has worked with many other well-known musicians over the years, including Carlos Santana, Cannonball Adderley, Lee Morgan, Paul Desmond, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette, John McLaughlin, Keith Jarrett, Al Di Meola, Zakir Hussain, and George Duke.

He also has been a contributor to many of Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart's world music percussion albums, played with symphony orchestras and as a solo percussionist, and worked on a number of film and TV soundtracks.

In 1993, Moreira recorded "Rhythms and Colors," an instructional video in which he demonstrates and discusses various Afro-Brazilian and world beat rhythms for drumset and percussion, with some help from his wife on vocals, José Neto on guitar, and Gary Meek on keyboards, saxophone, and flute. Thanks to a pseudonymous user who has uploaded it to YouTube, you can see that video in the embedded window below.